Forces of the Ministry of the Interior (MININT) dismantled in Guantánamo a network of administrative corruption that embezzled millions of pesos belonging to a local gastronomy company.
A report by the Cuban Television News (NTV) specified that the investigation detected the illicit extraction of more than seven million pesos worth of products destined for the municipal Gastronomy company of Guantánamo, which never reached their final destination.
The criminal instructor Juan Martínez Martínez explained that one of the most complex aspects of the case was the number of people and companies involved.
The MININT official detailed that reconciliations between the parties, a standard procedure in business economics, were carried out with fraudulent invoices. These documents, obtained from the suppliers, were presented as valid to the catering company, which would pay for goods that it never received.
Among the diverted products are rum, beer, chicken, and sausages, which caused the complete decapitalization of the company and its eventual extinction, affecting all its workers.
The individuals involved, accused of falsifying controls and primary documentation, are now subject to a criminal process.
Misappropriation comes with a high social cost, explained the provincial prosecutor, Yumara Souteran Padilla, to NTV, indicating that this type of crime is punishable under the Cuban Penal Code with up to 20 years of imprisonment.
The authorities continue to investigate to determine the full extent of the corruption network and ensure that justice is served in this case that has significantly impacted the economy and trust in local institutions.
PCC plenum focused on "confrontation against crime, corruption, and illegal activities".
Against the backdrop of the celebration in early July of the Eighth Plenum of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Cuba (PCC), which highlights food production and crime control on its agenda, the Cuban official press intensifies coverage of the work of the so-called "confrontation against crime, corruption, and illegalities."
At the beginning of April, a 26-year-old Cuban was sentenced by the Provincial Court of Sancti Spiritus province to 18 years of imprisonment for stealing a large sum of money from the Popular Camping Company of that territory.
The damage was valued at a total of 7,968,669.50 Cuban pesos and was detected due to the continuous money movements between the accounts of the entity. The report was made on May 24, 2023, according to the official newspaper Escambray.
The young man, who was not identified, was acting as a B specialist in Economic Management of the Accounting and Financial Directorate belonging to the Popular Camping Company in Sancti Spíritus: the investigation determined that he transferred cash to his personal account up to four times in one month, from September 2022 to May 2023.
After the company's report, the police arrested the young man at his home in the municipality of Trinidad, and confiscated the items purchased with the stolen money.
The Provincial People's Court of Sancti Spiritus sentenced the accused to 18 years of imprisonment for being the perpetrator of a crime of falsification of banking or commercial documents, carried out continuously, as a means or end to commit embezzlement.
As additional penalties, the equipment purchased with this money was confiscated, including items transferred to other people, such as: a flat-screen TV (55 inches), refrigerator, freezer, two motorcycles, among others.
An effective administrative confrontation is not achieved in factories, warehouses, where problems originate, in most cases. The population's dissatisfaction persists, which shows that work is still insufficient. Actions must be intensified, especially preventive ones," stated Prime Minister Manuel Marrero Cruz at the beginning of June, urging an analysis of the "causes and conditions" that foster criminal behaviors in the country.
In recent times, Marrero Cruz advocated in Cienfuegos for applying more "firm hand" against crime, corruption, and illegalities, in line with times of "war economy".
"I receive feedback from the population. They say: 'Listen, you say we are in an economy of war, but the sanctions do not align with that economy of war.' It is an exceptional situation, where the main problems that the people are facing, when someone commits an action of that kind, we must apply greater rigor (sic),” said the leader in a new call for "confrontation" and to end the "softness."
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